Sally Lindsay is our Writing Bursary Competition Head Judge!


Supplied © Sally Lindsay, head judge of "The People's Friend" New Writer's competition

Actor, writer and producer Sally Lindsay is adding a new job to her impressive roster – having joined “The People’s Friend” team as a judge to help pick a winner for our 155th year writing bursary competition.

No stranger to writing and creating fantastic stories herself, Sally joins “Friend” editor Stuart Johnstone on Head Judge duties.

Sally was thrilled to get involved. “The People’s Friend is something every writer knows, and as a writer myself, I love how it champions stories and creativity. The award for new writers is a wonderful idea and I’m so pleased to be leading the judging panel and helping find a brand-new author and help them with their career,” Sally explained.

Our writing bursary competition judging panel in full

The duo are joined on the panel by authors Louise Welsh and Adele Parks, former doctor and “This Is Going To Hurt” writer Adam Kay and writer and academic Yvonne Battle-Felton.

“Strictly” costume designer Vicky Gill is also on board.

BookTokkers Coco Omer (aka Cult of Books) and Francesca Pavis round out the impressive line up.

Eight judges join "The People's Friend" Editor Stuart Johnstone to judge New Writer's Competition

Eight judges join “The People’s Friend” Editor, Stuart Johnstone, to pick the winners in our 155th anniversary Writing Bursary Competition

Celebrating 155 years of “The Friend”

“The People’s Friend” has been providing readers with feel-good short stories since 1869 – and to celebrate our 155th anniversary, we’re unveiling a fresh new look to coincide with our search to discover the country’s best hidden writing talent.

“Inside the magazine, you will see a ‘fresh lick of paint’,” writes Stuart in his latest Editor’s Diary entry. “We have brightened it up, while still giving you all the wonderful stories and features you enjoy.

“Everyone who knows the ‘Friend’ knows it is the place to go for short stories. We publish more than any other magazine, so just to save me from having to climb up to the rooftops and shouting about it, we have introduced a new tagline, ‘The Home Of Great Reading’. I hope you agree it sums us up nicely.

“We are still as committed to publishing the very best fiction. It’s at the heart of everything we do. It has been all through our history and will be for many years to come. As we have always done, we will continue to champion new writing. We love giving opportunities to budding writers and it means that you get to read fresh, fantastic stories every week.”

Stay tuned for our winner announcements!

The winner of “The People’s Friend” New Writer’s Prize will be announced later this month, with one amateur author receiving a bursary of £10,000 to help them launch their writing career.

Stay tuned – and a special thanks again to Sally Lindsay and the rest of our fabulous writing bursary competition judging panel!


To enjoy a weekly dose of uplifting fiction, subscribe to The People’s Friend or pick up a copy at your local newsagent.

It’s Official: Reading Is Good For Your Health. Sally Lindsay backs our campaign.

Leisa Millar

I'm a digital editor with experience of writing and editing for some of the UK's best-known women's lifestyle titles - and I'm delighted to count "The People's Friend" and "My Weekly" among them! A busy mum of three young children, I also host a parenting podcast called The SEN Mums' Career Club.